yes, it's true....

2.15.2017

I've been trying to work out what to put here but fear it would just be a mess of crying and heart emojis. I could c/p all the DMs between me & my @sparklybearsy but that would take up too much space. What I've come up with is this:

I went back and reread all the books from the beginning, starting with the Highlander novels & while I was desperate to start Feversong, I knew once I did it would be over forever.

I've been intimately involved with the Fever universe for the last 12 years (longer if you count the Highlander books since they are connected) and was not ready to let it go. I never will be. While there have been times I really didn't like what happened, the actions of certain characters, the endless waiting, it was all worth it. It all makes sense.

There are still loose ends and I am excited to see what the future holds for Dani & Ryodan & Christian & Lor & the rest of the Nine. I hope KMM will let us get a peek in at Mac n Barrons from time to time. We waited so very long for their love and it is so beautiful. We thought we loved Barrons before but we had no idea how enormous our love could be.

In a world rich with excellent characters, Jericho Barrons is one of the greatest I have ever read. Or could ever hope to. Finally seeing his whole heart is magical. My love for him is infinite, like his love for Mac.

I spent the entire last portion of this book crying my eyes out and while I am heartbroken, I am also happy. Satisfied with how it all ended. Hopeful and excited for the future. Nursing a book hangover that's going to take me ages to recover from.

3.16.2016

I have been using this in the Abricot/Bisque color for about a month and have been happy with the overall results. The color is good for the dark circles under my eyes. It is not full coverage, more medium I would say, but it is very light & brightens the area well.I tested it over Urban Decay Naked Skin & Chantecaille Just Skin (both tinted moisturizers) and found that I preferred it with the Urban Decay. I found if you are out dancing & getting sweaty, it does crease a bit but I'm not sure what product wouldn't under those conditions. I plan to purchase the green color to see if it will help neutralize the redness (I have a touch of rosacea) in my cheeks.

7.01.2015

· * Dress
comfortably, especially shoes. Your feet will kill from all the standing and
walking, this is not the time to break in a brand new pair of shoes.

· * Carry
drinks and snacks. Seriously. Do this. There is very limited food in the
convention center, it is pretty much all junk, it is all expensive, and
everyone in the center will be in line for it when they get hungry. Fruit,
granola bars, trail mix, bottled water and juice are your friends. You don’t
want to be hangry when you’re waiting in line or about to meet your favorite
celeb or artist.

· * When you
do go to eat, try to eat at non-peak times. This is obviously more difficult in
the morning as everyone tries to cram in breakfast before heading to the
convention center and the lines for coffee border on insanity. Try waiting till
2 or 3pm before going for lunch, it is far less crowded. This is also where
having snacks comes in.

·Don’t be
afraid to travel a bit to find a place to eat. You may have to walk 6 or 10
blocks but it is worth it to find good food and a less crowded restaurant. Don’t
worry, they aren’t New York City blocks so they aren’t that long =)

* *You will
get so much swag, it’s overwhelming. Remember, you don’t HAVE to take
everything people try to hand you (I have a serious problem with this, though.
I took pretty much everything =P) You also have to keep in mind you will be
dragging all this crap around with you until you can get to your hotel to dump
your bag. Try to do a bag dump at least once a day, more depending on how much stuff you get.

*

· * Speaking
of your bag, the SDCC bag is a great collectible but if you overload it, it
will get really uncomfortable to carry and it will probably rip. A great
lightweight foldable/packable bag is your friend. These are fabulous: https://baggu.com/shop/bigbaggu

A good crossbody bag is also a good idea.
Backpacks I would tend to avoid because you will smack people with it when you
try to turn around and the convention floor is packed full of people. Also,
people could take things out of it without you knowing.

· *Chargers,
Chargers, Chargers. No, not the football team. Cell phone, iPod, camera, iPad,
Kindle, handheld gaming consoles, etc. You want to have everything fully
charged, nothing could be worse than happening upon Tom Hiddleston in a random
hallway and being unable to take a picture with him because your phone is dead.
I strongly advise bringing a power strip with you to the hotel, they even make
excellent small travel size ones that you can throw in your bag to bring into
the con. http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F9YN2M?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

Mine is now 3 years old, has been to Europe
and back, and is still going strong. I can get at least 5-6 full charges of my
phone, iPod & Kindle (in whatever combination) off of it.

· * Carry at
least two new Sharpies with you, a black one and a silver one, along with
something to sign just in case. Your SDCC program guide is good for this plus
you need it carry it with you in order to know what activities are going on
during the con. (You may also want some highlighters to go through the program
guide to mark some of your most desired activities.)

· * Carry
hand sanitizer and tissues. The former for obvious reasons, the latter in case
you get the stall that’s out of toilet paper.

· * Take
Airborne before your plane journeys and at least twice during the con. Daily
would be better. Avoid the dreaded con crud!

· * Cell
phone reception is pretty non-existent on the convention floor, it’s like a
black hole in there. If you split off from your friends, make sure to select a
place and time to meet up later on. (Ours was by the restrooms close to the
snack bar.)

· * Don’t be
married to a rigid schedule of Musts. The best things can happen when you fly
by the seat of your pants. Don’t be afraid to wing it. I wandered into a great
panel just walking around poking my head into open rooms.

· * Be
alert! Eavesdropping, not in a negative way, but listen because people talk about things that
are happening inside and outside the convention center. You may find your way
into something that you never would have found otherwise.

· * Keep
your eyes peeled! The best part of SDCC is that the actors, artists, directors,
etc. are fans too! They walk the convention floor, eat in the restaurants, are
in the lobbies of hotels. Michael Sheen was just strolling on the convention
floor and we got to take pictures with him. I complimented a cute guy’s leather
jacket as he bent down to tie his shoe outside the Westin & once he stood
up, realized it was Thomas Jane. They are everywhere! =)

· * Following
along with the above: if you do see someone famous, please try to play it cool.
I know it’s difficult and excitement is absolutely going to shine through but
try not to freak them out by being a creeper. Screaming, crying, or professing
your undying desire to have babies with them is probably not the best way to
go. OTOH, telling them you love their work, or whomever your favorite character
is, or thanking them for being generally awesome is totally cool.

(Editorial
note: my friend’s son saw Dominic Monaghan trying to creep unnoticed through a
sea of fans in the Gaslamp Quarter one evening. Instead of freaking out &
alerting all and sundry to Dominic’s presence, which would have gotten him
mobbed, Tyler gave him the cool guy nod [because he IS a seriously cool guy],
Dominic returned the nod, and they went on their respective ways. And Tyler has
a neat story to tell for the future.)

· * Do go
outside the convention center. There are great things happening all around San
Diego. Take a walk, get some air, soak up the gorgeous weather. You never know
what you’ll find.

· * Please
be respectful, patient and polite. To your fellow attendees, to the volunteers,
to your harried hotel and wait staff, to the shuttle drivers, to everyone! You
will wait in long lines, you will get tired, you will be hungry, and so will
everyone else. Being an asshole will get you nowhere. (I will say I had
absolutely no problem with this. Everyone I met was lovely and so happy to be
at SDCC. The good mood is infectious!)

· * Ask
permission to take pictures of a cosplayer unless they are already posing for
pictures. The level of cosplay at SDCC is mindboggling.

· * If you
can’t get into a panel, see if your favorites are signing at one of the booths.
Even if you can’t get an autograph ticket, you can at least lay eyes upon them
and get a picture. (I saw the Vampire Diaries cast [gorgeous but tiny!] and
Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki [tall and gorgeous!] as they were walked
through the crowd to the signing booth.)

· * Talk to
your fellow attendees. Get to know your line buddies. Discuss your favorite
comics, movies, books, celebs, etc. Share what you plan to do during the con.
This is another great way to find out what’s going on in and outside of the
con. The entire vibe during SDCC was overwhelmingly joyful. People are excited
to be there, not just because it’s SDCC, but because they can find like-minded
people who love the same thing they do and celebrate their fandom freely
without people shitting on it.

· * Try to
buy intelligently. You will want to buy ALL THE THINGS. All the comics, all the
t-shirts, all the collectibles. You cannot do it. Try to limit yourself to
buying things you can only get there. You can probably get those 25 comic books
you want to buy because they are 50% off but you can probably get them from
your local comics shop. (But if that’s what you’re there for and you absolutely
must have them, by all means do it!) That SDCC only item or piece of original
artwork though? Yeah, buy that. But only after you cruise all the booths. You
may see something you fancy more two booths down. If you miss out on something,
it just wasn’t meant to be yours.

· * Have
cash! Lines at the ATM in the con are murder. (Hopefully most vendors now have
Square, etc. but when I went in 2010, cash was king.)

· * Strongly
consider mailing things home. USPS flat rate boxes are free at the post office,
take up almost no space in your suitcase, and may save you from overweight bag
fees from your airline. Bring tape with you, you can order your postage online at usps.com, print it out in your hotel's business center, and just drop the box off at the post office (most have a dropoff box in the lobby for after hours packages)

· * Have a
sense of humor. Shit happens. Not everything will be perfect. Someone will snag
that last limited edition Funko POP you wanted and you will see more beautiful
art than you have funds to buy but you are still in nerd heaven and millions of
people would kill to be at SDCC. Enjoy it!

9.04.2013

I
recently returned from a whirlwind 6 week adventure to the United
Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe. While abroad I saw so many amazing places,
things, people, ate delicious food, and found a million and one things
that I wanted to buy. It truly was the best thing I've ever done. So
many people told me I was crazy for going by myself which kind of pissed
me off, honestly. At
31 years of age, I manage to get myself out of the house and around
town without guidance or supervision of any kind. I'm hardly helpless.
Yes, there is an added danger factor as a woman traveling alone but I
credit myself with enough common sense to be able to avoid most of the
obvious pitfalls. Besides, people get shot at the Walmart 2 miles from
my house (which I do not set a toe inside.) Bad shit can happen
anywhere. I do not regret a single day of my travels, even the REALLY
shitty ones (and there were a few.)

Since
my arrival back in the States, post vacation letdown has hit me pretty
hard. As soon as I turned on my cell phone, I was flooded with various
bullshit school/work voicemails and texts stressing me out with stupid
stuff. As I continue to be stressed out with school/work study/home
crap, I long to be back across the Atlantic. Or back home in
Pennsylvania.

I
have always had an itchy wandering foot. I like to travel, to visit new
places I've never been, to see things I've never seen before. I live in
Florida but PA will always be home for me. Maryland runs a very close
second. When I am home, I get a feeling that I can't really describe.
Everything inside me gets quiet. All the doubts and worries and fears
and annoyances just cease to exist. My head gets clear. I have an
overwhelming feeling of peace. A feeling of belonging. Like I've been
constantly wearing a corset and can now take a really deep breath again,
all the way down to my toes. In Miranda Lambert's song 'The House That Built Me' the lyrics say "I thought if I could touch this place or feel it / This
brokenness inside me might start healing / Out here it's like I'm
someone else / I thought that maybe I could find myself." That, for me,
it the perfect description of what I feel when I go back home. This
may be something most people can't relate to, I don't know. I see it
with my mom, when we go back to PA, but also when we go to the beach. It
recharges her somehow. I see her close her eyes, take a deep breath of
the saltwater scented breeze, and when she opens them again it's like a
weight has been lifted.

While
I was traveling, I fell in love. Sadly, it was not with Tom Hiddleston
(who was tragically unavailable when I was in London, dammit!) as I had
hoped it would be. Instead, I fell in love with Scotland.

Head
over heels in love. It was immediate. I felt a recognition. A
connection. Like I had been there before. Add in all the gorgeous
accents and rugged, brawny men, and I was in heaven =)I know it will be a place I return to again and again. I can't wait to be back there. So
this has me wondering, what are your feelings on this subject? Is there
a special place you go that rejuvenates you? Or is it a book you read?
Song you listen to? Movie or TV show you watch? Person you talk to?
Something you do?

6.25.2013

Still alive and about to embark on a whirlwind six week vacation in Europe but I kicked off my last two weeks in the States by attending Karen Marie Moning's luncheon celebration at Sam Snead's in Sarasota. I took Mom as a belated birthday gift, best $20 I ever spent!

We had a blast! It was my first time at this kind of event and it was very smoothly run by Leiha and volunteers from Team KMM. Karen was entertaining, funny, and showed up in her new Lamborghini which was pretty much a wet dream.

She asked that there be no photos or video while she did the Q and A, said she gets the willies over there being a bunch of pictures of her out there with her mouth hanging open. So I was taking notes on my phone as fast as my fingers would move and mostly in shorthand so it's been a bit of a bear to translate (between that and the typos =P) I may have missed a thing or two but I'm fairly certain I got all the good stuff down. So without further ado, here are the juicy bits =)

Will Dani and Ryodan get together? ---- "I'm definitely not answering that one."

What did you think of all the votes for Ryodan during the Alpha Showdown on Vampire Book Club?---- So happy and thankful to everyone who voted. Wasn't even aware of it because she was overseas but so glad to have two alphas of hers that have won.

Will Dani be getting older soon? (I think, I couldn't hear the question properly) ---- Dani will be 17 soon. She will not be 14 very much longer, she will be 17 in Burned.

Will there ever be any Mac movies? ---- The Fever series has been optioned twice by movie companies. The most recent option, which was with Dreamworks, just expired. She is okay with this because she would prefer the series be done on TV. But after seeing how True Blood went far away from the books and hearing about the death threats that George RR Martin got, she's okay with just writing books. If it happens, she wants to have lots of control over it the way GRRM has over Game of Thrones. She doesn't want it to ever be out of her control. But she is still having fun writing the series.

Will Barrons and Mac ever have a baby? Would it be special? ---- She was very amused by this. "So what you really want is for me to tell you a story. If Barrons is capable of having a child, what would it be like? Would it be like his son? What would happen?" ..... "We'll see. I never say never."

Which character do you enjoy writing the most? ---- It changes but it is often whoever she is writing at that time. Often the protagonist. Whoever she is being annoyed by. She enjoys writing them but is annoyed by them. Which is natural.

How do your thought processes work? Do you get ideas while you're dreaming? ---- The idea for the Fever series came to me in a dream. I knew everything. Beginning, end, even where to stop each book. The subconscious is so important, that's why I get up at 3am and write while I'm still half asleep. I think dreams are archetypal.

Will there be more Lor? ---- To lady who asked the question, "You want a piece of Lor? But you're not blonde, honey. *laughs* Yeah, I love Lor. There will be more of him."

Will there be more Highlanders? ---- She never says never. She is going to Scotland in the fall. Scotland is very romantic. She can't say that she won't go over there and fall so in love with it that she wants to write something in the country again.

Talking about how she became a writer: She was an insurance litigator for 10 years and one day she realized she was 30 years old and she wasn't really living. She had gone to school, graduated, done the job that she had gotten a degree for but it wasn't what she wanted. She may have been living someone's life but it wasn't the life that she wanted. So she quit her job and wrote in her spare time. The rest is history.

Does the story ever continue in your head at night while you're sleeping after you're done writing for the day? ---- One of the tricks of the trade for her is after you're done writing for the day, block out the next scene. Then go to sleep. It always works for her.

Will we find out anything about Dani's dad? ---- "Please tell me you're not going to ask if it's Ryodan. Noooooo, it's not Ryodan!" Dani's father is not relevant. There is no red herring concerning him.

Will you ever writing anything from Ryodan's point of view? ---- "I don't know what the Nine will give me. I will never write something untrue to them. So I don't know. You know how hard it was for me to write something from Barrons' point of view."

What is the hardest part of writing? ---- "I love all of it but I would say the hardest part is trying to convey the vision on paper as it is in my head."

Do you intimidate men? ---- *laughs* "Why would you ask me that? Do you think I should?" Man in the room yells out, "Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact." Lots of laughter.

What's with Jo and Ryodan? ---- Lots of loud opinions are shouted by the crowd at this question. Karen's laughing and starts heckling the audience, "What? You don't like Jo and Ryodan?" More loud opinions and Jo haters, LOL. "Sometimes you write a character too well. Why are you all pissed off with Jo?" Woman yells out, "Jealousy!" Karen says, "You're SUPPOSED to feel that way. It's supposed to piss you off. If you don't take, I can't give. It's all about transformation. We all make mistakes. We recreate ourselves. Without damage, we can't get better. Yes, we know Jo's not in his league. But tell me which woman here who had a shot at being in Ryodan's bed would give it up if she had the chance? Who would take that shot? Raise your hand." All hands were raised and there was much more yelling from the crowd. Quite a few said they are mad at Ryo for sleeping with Jo if he wants Dani. "If a book doesn't make you feel, why read it? There is a reason for everything I do in the books. I have laid the bricks of the foundation. In everything I write, I promise you a truly great romance. There is a bigger payoff. It's coming." ~ I loved this entire Q and A, Karen had the best info and wonderful answers. But this was my very favorite answer.

Will Christian be coming back from the Crimson Hag's clutches? ----"Of course."

Will we see more Dancer? ---- "Yes."

Lots of good writing questions during the Q and A. Karen talking more about writing and how she likes to write."I like to take my time with writing. Would you rather watch Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly or the miniseries with Colin Firth? Two hours versus six hours." She prefers the more is more approach.
When she writes, she is like in the zone. Almost like a zombie. "I think I only left the house four times by myself while I was writing Shadowfever."

When is Burned coming out? ---- "If you didn't know, it has indeed been pushed back to April." Lots of groans and complaints. Doesn't know if there will be a book launch like there was with Iced. It depends on the next book. She may write them back to back.

Is Dancer like the Dreamy Eyed Guy? ---- "No. He is not part of the Unseelie King. Not everything has a hidden meaning. Sometimes a tree is just a tree."

Does Dani lose her V card in Burned? ---- "Really? V card? What does that even mean? There's no way I'm answering that."

Does/will Ryodan surpass Barrons? ---- "Next question."

Question from an aspiring writer - How do you decide what stays or what goes? What to keep and what to cut?
---- "It's very difficult. If you're a good writer, really good stuff gets cut. Good books don't tell all. You give the idea. Let the readers fill in the outline. If I sit back after reading over something I've written and think, 'Damn, that's good!', I cut it. Because my ego is invested in it. The book is not about that. I follow the dialogue. Then I go back and fill in the plot around that. I love the dialogue. That's my favorite part."

Who are your favorite authors? ---- "Stephen King, Dean Koons. SciFi writers, I grew up reading scifi. I love JR Ward. I love some Charlaine (Harris.) I love some Lauren K. Hamilton stuff. Linda Howard, she writes some great sex. Especially her older books. You should definitely read her if you haven't yet."

Someone asked about her trip to Ireland. "Ireland is amazing. Gorgeous."

How do you overcome writer's block? ---- "If I have writer's block, I know I'm doing something wrong, something that's not supposed to happen. I'm not listening to the characters. I will go back over the entirety of what I've written from the beginning to find out where I lost my way."

Will Mac and Barrons be in Burned? ---- "Yes! Part of the reason the release date for Burned was pushed back is because I have two versions of Burned and I'm trying to decide which parts of each to use." I can't remember the exact phrasing of the following info but she said one is Dani POV and the other is Mac POV. So we will get either two more books, or four more books. This would be presented as two more books with combined point of view or four more books, the first two being books #2 and #3 in Dani's trilogy and the next two being the Mac and Barrons books as was discussed here ~Personally, I'm hoping for four more books. I'm greedy =D

Will you ever write anything from Fae point of view? ---- "I don't know. I have written a diary from the Fae point of view but no one has seen it. It's possible."

If Fiona knew so much, why wasn't she killed? ---- "She didn't know as much as she thought she knew and as such, she wasn't considered a risk. The Nine would have killed her if she had known anything of value."

Someone asked about her shoes, which were fabulous black silver studded heels. She put her foot up to show them off.

Did you enjoy writing your graphic novel? ---- "I loved working on Fever Moon, it was a fascinating process. I had to write up a synopsis. I have a whole binder of information from it. I should bring it to the next gathering or launch. It was a different process because of how the artist translates your story with his drawings." She talked about Al Rio committing suicide with only 30 pages left in the book. She was very sad and didn't know if she wanted to continue with it. Said she knows she was very difficult at the end and said Cliff Richards did an amazing job dealing with the end of the book. This was supposed to be the last question but she said she didn't want to end things on such a depressing note so she took a few more questions.

Next to last question - When will you free Cruce? ---- *smiles* "When would you like me to?" Many shouts were heard. "Nice try. Next question."

Last question - Will we learn about the rest of the Nine? Will they each have their own book? ----"I don't write like JR Ward. They won't be all paired off with someone. If I can't follow my views, I can't write a good book. I get shut down by deadlines. That's why I refused to sign any more contracts. I can't work with them. I'm in it to tell stories. I answer to the muse."

It was a fantastic day! Karen was so sweet and lovely to chat to. I asked what her favorite thing about Ireland was and she said the pubs and the Guinness, and recommended that I go see the Burren because it was incredibly beautiful. She told me to have an amazing trip and to be careful. I told her I'd avoid the Shades =) She signed everything people brought to her, her poor hand must have been ready to fall off. We had a hilarious bunch of ladies at our table. They were all so happy and lively and it was wonderful to get to fangirl over the books with like-minded people.

A few more pictures:

Two girls had these great shirts made. The front (which I apparently didn't get a picture of) said: 'Barrons breaks heads. Ryodan turns them inside out. Barrons fucks you up. Ryodan makes you fuck yourself up.'

The Mac Halo!

I don't know what I coveted more, Karen's Lambo or her gorgeous Valentino handbag!

10.28.2012

Just a quickie post on how I'm impatiently waiting for the Tuesday October 30th release of Karen Marie Moning's ICED, the first book set in the Fever universe from Dani 'Mega' O'Malley's point of view. http://www.karenmoning.com/kmm/iced.html

I've not only pre-ordered my print version (in February!) but I just went & pre-ordered the Kindle version too (cause I'm a total junkie.) Also, Mom & I will fight over it so it's better to have two.
This is what my weekend has looked like

Crushes

Disclosure

Review Disclosure

Due to FTC regulations, here is some info. Unless otherwise stated, all books reviewed have been purchased by me. All reviews are based solely upon my thoughts, feelings & opinions and have not been coerced, bribed and/or tortured out of me by water-boarding or any other nefarious methods. All reviews are copyright of a Bitch, a Blog & a Bookshelf, jaymzangel.blogspot.com and all reviews will be HONEST. period.